The "presumption of legitimacy" is a
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
rule of evidence that states that a child born within the subsistence of a marriage is presumed to be the child of the husband.
Early history
Paternity
Paternity may refer to:
*Father, the male parent of a (human) child
*Paternity (law), fatherhood as a matter of law
* ''Paternity'' (film), a 1981 comedy film starring Burt Reynolds
* "Paternity" (''House''), a 2004 episode of the television seri ...
is considered an important issue in determining the
rules of succession.
Illegitimate children
Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
were originally excluded from royal succession,
hereditary titles
Hereditary titles, in a general sense, are nobility titles, positions or styles that are hereditary and thus tend or are bound to remain in particular families.
Though both monarchs and nobles usually inherit their titles, the mechanisms often di ...
, and property.
See also
*''
Mater semper certa est
("The mother is always certain") is a Roman-law principle which has the power of , meaning that no counter-evidence can be made against this principle (literally: presumption of law and by law). It provides that the mother of the child is conc ...
''
References
Family law
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